Neighbour attached washing line to My fence panel

[JohnD]

a persistent pull on the fencepost will eventually make it lean, and that will be a great deal of trouble and expense to put right.

Due to soft ground and strong coastal winds I have a couple of leaning posts, and have got some pulleys, ropes and weights to try to get them upright and prevent it happening again.

 

[mattylad]

Why can the neighbor not attach it to his property instead?

 

[Mojo12345]

Thanks for all the advice everyone, I sent him a message and showed him the photo I had Of his attached line, so he knows I have documentary evidence, I think the panels lie on my side of boundary and one got damaged so I replaced it, He’s now moved the washing line which is 2 lines of 5 meters length onto the concrete post which is fine with me. I know that a cheap fence panel cannot support 2 lines of washing and over time it will disintegrate and he would have expected me to pay for changing the panel, so I am glad he’s moved it. I guess some people lack common sense or maybe he thought I would not notice or find out. he even claimed in his reply to me that the washing line has been there for years, when I know it’s only been there for a few months as I saw him fit it

 

[Mottie]

Are you on talking terms with your neighbour?

 

[Mojo12345]

Yes

 

[Tigercubrider]

If it was me, I'd be tempted to say
"If you buy a metal washing post, I will stick it in the ground when I fix my fence"
It would take you 20 mins and a bag of postcrete

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Your neighbours a cock, I wouldn't want it on the post either. How did he attach it to the concrete post?

 

[Mojo12345]

i think he just looped it, dunno why he just doesn’t buy a rotary airer washing line and concrete it in which is what I have no need to put weight on peoples fences and posts and potentially damage them

 

[Mojo12345]

And yes my neighbour is a cock

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Your neighbours a cock, I wouldn't want it on the post either. How did he attach it to the concrete post?

Depending on the soil and depth of the post, it could over time cause that to pull over eventually. We used to have a proper washing post pole in the back garden, deeply set in concrete. Over the years that leaned progressively, due to the constant pull on it. I eventually fixed it, by extending it's depth into the ground, with an extra 6" scaffold pole and several hours with a sledge hammer.

 

[conny]

In my last house when I lived in Liverpool I had a 20' scaffolding pole buried 3' deep and a 2' cube lump of concrete at the bottom. Length of the washing line was at least 40' and set around 10' high at the scaffy end then going through a pulley at the house end and fastened off around a cleat. No need for a line prop and it was still perfectly vertical when I left 17 years later. Used to hang clothes, including heavy overalls, along the whole length of it.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

No need for a line prop and it was still perfectly vertical when I left 17 years later.

Much depends upon the sub-soil. My sub-soil is clay and the ground becomes quite water-logged and squealshy in the rainy season.

 

[conny]

Had clay in my garden but it was quite deep, around 18" with good topsoil covering it.

 

[SUNRAY]

Back in the 80's I bought an old house, total doer upper

when it came to washing line the existing 10ft high wooden poles bolted to 4x4" hardwood posts were at probably 30° from the vertical. Looking along the line of houses most were in a similar sort of condition but not as bad as mine, I aguired some 21ft scaff poles and when the old 2" heating pipes were ripped out at work I grabbed some 6ft lengths. welded a 1x⅜ steel in the end and formed a concrete spike around a pair then banged them 4ft into the ground and cut off a foot above ground. Knowing what had happened to the the poles along the street I'd added a ⅜" block to the spirit level and made them lean apart with the expectation they would pull together. 2019 (26 years after moving away) I happened to be in the area (It's very near the hospital!) and popped round to have a look, the striking thing about the back gardens was still the washing line poles all leaning together except one mine. It still looks silly.

 

[Ian H]

I would hire a structural engineer to report on the washing line attachment to the fence panel.

It’s in the corner so his calculations may show that it won’t damage the panel.